The guide lists 12 possible actions, four for each approach. They are listed below as a reminder.
a) Open schools to offer in-person instruction for special education students, low-income children without good home support, English language learners, and others left behind by remote instruction.
b) Require teachers to teach in person as other essential workers do.
c) Close schools and offer remote learning until vaccines are more available and we get much better control over this pandemic.
d) Open schools but cancel sports, chorus, and any activity that includes physical closeness, shouting, or singing, which can spread the virus.
e) Create permanent enrichment programs, such as music and the arts, counseling, and mentoring programs, that give children who have suffered from poverty, racism, or other forms of abuse an equal chance at a good education.
f) Teachers should be given the choice whether to teach remotely from home or in person at school.
g) Open schools with predictable five-day schedules and mandatory mask rules, regardless of the rate of community transmission.
h) Bring back the earliest grades first. Young children learn reading and other basic skills best with in-person instruction, and they are less likely to spread the virus or fall seriously ill.
i) Employers should offer parental leave until the pandemic ends so all workers have time to help their children with school.
j) Invest in making schools safe by renting classroom space to allow better physical distancing and by improving ventilation and sanitation.
k) Offer summer school and after-school classes to help those who have fallen behind to catch up educationally.
l) Allow parents to choose either in-school or remote learning or a combination of the two, depending on their family’s needs and risks.
